TheChat: Andy Blunt insists there’s no conflict of interest

▪ “I am a son who loves my father and helps his political campaign.” — Andy Blunt, son of Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, insisting there’s no conflict of interest in his role as Roy Blunt campaign manager and Statehouse lobbyist.

Democrats continue to insist Andy Blunt has it wrong. But Andy Blunt adds, “Roy Blunt isn't a state lawmaker and doesn't weigh in on state issues” and says Democrats are pounding in this because they have nothing else to pound on.

▪ “House Bill 1743 seeks to further solidify and legalize institutional racism by targeting black athletes for exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and reducing them to the status of subjugated livestock.”— Missouri state Rep. Brandon Ellington, a Kansas City Democrat, on a measure that would require colleges to revoke scholarships to student-athletes who refuse to play.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, is a response to the Mizzou football team’s threatened boycott last month when players demanded the resignation of former System President Tim Wolfe. One backer of the bill said the players had, in essence, a contract to play via the scholarships they’ve received.

▪ “The vote today is a total capitulation to the Iranian regime’s aggressively dishonest behavior.” — Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo, a Wichita Republican, after the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors voted to close an investigation into Iran’s nuclear program.

Pompeo called that a mistake because of a recent report that he said showed that Iran lied about its nuclear weapons-related activities.

▪ “Only 37 percent of Missouri business leaders are satisfied with the condition of Missouri’s transportation infrastructure.” — the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a statement about the need to focus on roads in the 2016 legislative session.

The group said it is convinced that the state is nearing a transportation “crisis.”